Paper Faces
by crysta656
Summary: "Mr. Malfoy,if you were in prison like you should be then I can assure you, my day would be complete and most wonderful."
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this , I make no profit whatsoever from this fanfiction. Harry Potter and all characters belong to J K Rowling.

This I have been working on for the Masquerade Ball challenge for Carapheonix over at Granger Enchanted. I will be multi chaptered and fun. :) Please read and review!

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Paper Faces

Chapter 1

To say that Hermione Granger was annoyed would have been a severe understatement. She was furious, livid, slightly embarrassed, but mostly she was in a full blown rage.

Here she was, twenty five years old, a successful woman with her own business, a heroine of the wizarding world, the brightest witch to graduate Hogwarts in many years. She had it all and she was content, but for her family it wasn't enough. She didn't have a man.

Her family, when she had first shown a twinkling of magic, had been shocked. They were an old family, full of aristocratic blood, descended from royalty, with an untainted lineage. Well, until she was born. They hadn't been happy with her choices to stay in the wizarding world, but they were going to make sure she continued on the Granger line.

That was why she was standing here in her bedroom at Chevening House. Her grandmother, the Countess of Chesterfield, was throwing her a masquerade ball with the hopes of catching her granddaughter a husband.

During a lunch that Hermione's mother had thrown for the Weasleys, her grandmother had bore down on Molly and Ginny, forcing them to make a list of all the influential and eligible men in the wizarding world. The traitors, as Hermione now thought of them, were only too happy to comply. Between the three of them, along with her mother and she was sure Harry Potter, the masquerade ball was scheduled and shaping up to be the event of the year.

Hermione had protested until her face turned red and she ran out of words. She was sure she would win, but defeat came only too swiftly. If she had taken into account her grandmother's scheming mind and ability to coerce, she might have drawn up a better battle plan.

Without any say, the plans trudged ahead. Black and white damask invitations had been sent out to almost every person in the wizarding world. There was no process of elimination. All who had political influence, money, good looks, and outstanding ability were invited. Collette, her grandmother, acting on Harry's advice, did not advise her granddaughter of who would be there.

Hermione looked in the mirror at the girl reflected back at her. She was at her final fitting and ready to pull out the mass of chocolate curls that graced her head. The gown she was wearing seemed to suck all the breath out of her body, making it impossible to breathe. She had to admit, the gown was beautiful, but too much for her simpler tastes.

It was a screaming scarlet red satin number that fell to the floor. The bodice was corseted tightly and plunged lower than she would have liked. It created a point at her waist and then fell gracefully in articulate folds to her feet. The back had a deep V with satin ribbons to hold it closed. The one thing that she did agree with her grandmother on was the bustle at the back that led to a short train that she could hold on her finger.

At that moment Collette walked in the door and brought a hand to her face.

"Oh... don't you look lovely?"

Hermione held back the curse that was building in her throat. She was ready to get out of the constricting garment and get the hell out of the house. She had been away from her bookshop for too long today. Parchment and Bindings was a hit in the wizarding world.

After going back to school to get her NEWTS she was offered a job at the ministry in the Care of Magical Creatures department. She had loved her job at first, she threw everything she had into it. Her position was her passion, her heart, her soul. She was promoting better welfare for those creatures who had no voice, working towards the end of enslavement and prejudices that had gone on for too long. It was her dream and she was fulfilling it. However, Lucius Malfoy had ruined it for her.

She was sure that the Malfoy family would be sent to Azkaban, but with the testimony of Harry, they had been let free. They laid low, but continued to donate to important causes. Eventually they had re-emerged on society and were still looked up to as gods. That had been the final straw.

Hermione had been sure that with Kingsley at the helm, the ministry wouldn't fall prey to those who would take advantage of it. She was wrong. He welcomed the Malfoy's and their money with open arms.

He once told her that it would be a good image for the ministry to not show partiality, therefore the Malfoy's held the seat of power once again. Draco was at the head of finance and Lucius still made his way through the different departments, bribing with vast sums of money for legislation he wanted passed and denied. The only Malfoy not on scene was Narcissa. It was rumored that she had pleaded with Kingsley for a divorce from the elder Malfoy on the grounds of desertion, but Hermione had no proof that the marriage had been dissolved. It was never in the papers and the family had kept it all quiet.

After a year of failed laws from her department, mostly do the fact that Lucius Malfoy's bribe shot them down, she called it quits. She had looked back at the lifts of the Ministry of Magic, stuck up her middle finger and never looked back. She secured a loan from Gringotts and bought George Weasleys old shop. He, along with Ron, as his new partner had purchased a larger storefront for the increasing business. She worked for weeks on end getting the store into shape. A month later the black sign with gold calligraphy had been hung and books sat on pristine shelves, ready to be pursued and opened.

Hermione was proud of her shop, and even prouder of the profit. When she first opened she ran the store on her own, but it didn't take long to build a large enough client base to hire others. The best thing she had done was take on Luna Lovegood. The girl that she had once made fun of had turned out to have a good head for money and a knack for drawing the customers in. Parchment and Bindings was now up to a point where they rivaled Flourish and Blotts. They carried rare books, invisible books, miniature books, and even Hogwarts school books.

"So, you have a waxing appointment in three hours and then Christophe will be here at six to do a deep conditioning on your hair. After that, why don't we have dinner?" Her grandmother asked, drawing her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry Collette, I have to get back to the shop. I will do the appointments, but I have a shipment of extremely old manuscripts coming in this evening and I need to be there to ensure their proper storage." Hermione lied with ease. There was no shipment coming, but if she didn't get away from her grandmother and the Weasleys, she was going to jump ship and run as far as she could.

"Oh darling, no worries. I talked to your little friend, Luna isn't it? She told me that she would take care of the shop tonight and that anything that needed taken care of would be waiting for you when you get back." Her grandmother said with a saccharine smile gracing her lips.

Hermione wanted to throw up. There went her excuse. Maybe she could convince Harry to lie for her and give her an excuse to get away. She made a mental note to talk to him as soon as Collette left the room.

"So, dinner? Molly, Ginny and your mother will be joining us." She fixed Hermione with a daring glare, begging her to try and come up with an excuse she would believe.

"Sure thing. You can bet I will be here." Hermione said while crossing her fingers behind her back. "Just let me pop out for my waxing appointment and then I will be back."

Collette nodded her head in acceptance and backed out of the room to leave her granddaughter to dress.

Hermione flung the dress from her as soon as ties were undone and dressed herself once again in her summer dress and robes. She collected her small bag that held her wand and threw her curls up into a haphazard knot on her head. She hung the red creation on a satin hanger and placed it on the back of the bathroom door so as to pull the wrinkles out. Merlin forbid there be a crease in her gown tomorrow night at the ball.

She took one last look at the room and rolled her eyes. She flicked her wand and dissaparated with a pop, landing in her office at the store.

She leaned back in her large leather office chair, flicked off her shoes and placed her feet up on the desk. She didn't know how she got suckered into this whole ball idea, and frankly just thinking about it was making her nauseated. The stupid party had taken over her life.

Over the past month Hermione had been forced to listen to endless bands audition, sample foods that were too rich for her tastes, been plucked and prodded, and forced to go on a diet by her grandmother who said that a girl could never do wrong with losing a few pounds. She had to admit that Collette had been right about the extra weight. She had slacked in the exercise and diet department for a few years and had gained a few extra pounds on her once slight frame. She had lost ten pounds and was back down to her Hogwarts size. She was even able to fit into her old school uniform.

She looked across her office and checked the clock. She only had an hour left until her waxing and she needed to get some work done. She pulled out the account books and poured over them, scrutinizing every incoming and outgoing expenditure. This was one of her favorite parts of her business, the pride she took going over the numbers and having proof that her business was doing well. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't even hear the door of her office open.

"Don't you have an appointment to get to Hermione?" Luna's airy voice interrupted her stream of thought.

Hermione glanced up at the clock once again and groaned. She had fifteen minutes to get to her waxing. She couldn't wait until this damn party was over. She would finally have control over her life again.

"You know Luna, I would rather face down Voldemort again rather than have the hair ripped out of my skin." She said, the aggravation in her having finally reached a boiling point.

She turned to look at her friend. Luna still had the waist length blond curls, the frail feminine frame, and still carried that dreamy, far off look in her eyes. The only thing that had changed was that she wasn't insistent on the existence of nargles.

"Oh, and by the way. Thanks for blowing my excuse to get out of dinner tonight. I really appreciated it." She tried to express the sarcasm, but apparently Luna thought nothing of it.

Luna just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "It was no problem. Besides, I like your grandmother. She's spunky. She reminds me a bit of McGonagall with her quick wit. Anyway, you better get out of here so that you aren't late."

Hermione gathered up her bag and wand. She applied a thin layer of gloss to her lips and headed out the door, looking back at Luna starting to tidy up the desk.

"Hey Luna," she said, her lip caught between her teeth. "Thanks for all your help."

She waved and emerged onto the streets of Diagon Alley, her legs carrying her faster as she checked the time on her watch. She ran into a small cafe to grab herself a sandwich that she could eat while she was waiting. She almost screamed her order to the girl at the counter and tossed the money on the counter.

She was within sight of the salon when she ran into a solid block of muscle and expensive clothing. The impact disoriented her and she fell back, her bottom landing with a smack on the street.

"If there is anything else that can make my day more enjoyable, please let it happen to me now." She said to herself, not realizing that the words actually came out of her mouth.

A pale hand reached out in front of her to help her up. She brushed off her robes and dug her fingernails into her palms as the man who had helped her held out her bag.

"I am happy to oblige you. Certainly my presence will now make your day complete." The laconic voice of Lucius Malfoy taunted her.

Hermione couldn't hold back her frustration any longer and shot out at him. "Mr. Malfoy. If you were in prison like you should be then I can assure you my day would be complete and most wonderful."

He held his serpent handled cane to his chest as a ridiculous look of fake hurt crossed his face. "Miss Granger, you wound me. Here I was rescuing a damsel in distress and this is how you repay me."

"Thank you for your assistance, I no longer require it. I'm late and I don't have the time to deal with your rudeness and conceit. Good day." She turned to walk away, only to have her wrist grasped within his large hands.

"It's only fitting for me to escort you to where you need to be. An appointment perhaps at the salon?"

She nodded her head yes and allowed him to lead her to the door. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She didn't even notice her surroundings or the looks she was receiving. The only thing she could concentrate on was the burning touch of his hand on her skin and the fact that it wasn't unpleasant.

He opened the door for her and lead her to the reception desk.

"It was a pleasure running into you Miss Granger. I will see you tomorrow." He gave her a sly smile and then went to shock her further. He raised her shaking hand to his lips and placed a gentle, yet searing kiss on her hand.

She was unable to speak as she watched him leave. She followed the receptionist into the spa a thought finally forming in her head. She looked at the receptionist, who she was sure thought she was crazy.

"Did he just say he would see me tomorrow?" Hermione asked with something akin to horror in her voice.

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Please read and review! I make no promises on how quickly updates will come out for this one seeing as how I've been working on it for about, ohhhh, a year. LOL. Enjoy though as this is my favorite portrayal of Lucius and Hermione that I've done!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this , I make no profit whatsoever from this fanfiction. Harry Potter and all characters belong to J K Rowling.

This I have been working on for the Masquerade Ball challenge for Carapheonix over at Granger Enchanted. I will be multi chaptered and fun. :) Please read and review!

* * *

Paper Faces

_"Here's to you, as good as you are, And here's to me, as bad as I am, But as good as you are, and as bad as I am, I am as good as you are, as bad as I am." ~ Scottish Proverb_

Chapter 2

"Gods damn it!" She screamed when she got back to Collette's home. Hermione thundered through the house, intent on finding the women, and possibly men, who were ruining her life and strangling them within an inch of theirs.

She waved her wand over the door to her grandmother's sitting room and stormed through, not surprised to see all of the women sitting there together. She looked each one in the eye with a menacing glare, but left the murderous look for Collette.

"What in Merlin's name were all of you thinking when you sent out those damn invitations?" Hermione asked, malice dripping in buckets through her words.

Her grandmother and Ginny both rolled their eyes at the same time. Collette picked up another cup and poured a cup of tea, motioning for her to sit next to her on the silk covered settee.

"Oh no! No trying to get me to calm down. Do you know who I ran into today Ginny? Mrs. Weasley? Grandmother?" She asked each one and gave a long pause as she waited for them to speak. "Well, let's see. Who could I run into that I absolutely hate and loathe enough to put me into this state?"

Ginny laughed and muttered _Ron_ under her breath.

"Nope, sorry Ginny, it wasn't Ron. Think blonder."

Molly smiled, "You know darling, Draco really is a sweet boy. He would be a wonderful catch for you."

"Wrong again." Hermione said as she tapped her wand in a fever on her knee, causing red sparks to fly out from the tip. "I just happened to have a little run in with Lucius Malfoy today and he was just saying the strangest things."

"Well sweetheart, I'm sure he was just happy to see you and got tongue tied." Her grandmother said sweetly, but Hermione didn't buy it for a second.

"Oh no, Grandmother. He spoke quite eloquently, in fact, he even told me how forward he was looking to attending the ball tomorrow." She said coldly.

"Now, you see... the thing that I just don't get is why all of you, my family...." her voice rose quickly, allowing her rage to bleed through. "Would invite that man to my ball."

"Look, Hermione..." Ginny started, but Hermione wouldn't let her go any further.

"Do you know the things that man has done? Do you know especially what his family put me through?" She questioned, looking each woman in the eye. "I've been called names, humiliated by them time and time again. Sweet Circe, I was tortured in the man's own home." She shivered quickly as the old chill crept over her. "How could any of you want him here? Didn't you stop to think of me, at all?"

"This is all for your own good, Hermione. It's about time that you settled down." Collette spoke up, not fearing the venomous tirade her only granddaughter was throwing about.

"My own good?" She asked, quite sure that if she was to look in a mirror, she would see her face contorted in a way that only circus freaks can manage. "I really fail to see the logic on this one."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Lucius Malfoy has changed." Molly intervened, trying to stave off the storm for a few moments longer.

"If that man has changed, then I have turned into Snape."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ginny, who was snickering quietly behind her hand.

"Oh, you think it's funny do you, Ginny?" She asked, ready to remind her friend _exactly_ why Malfoy was not to be trusted. "You seem to have forgotten that the man tried to kill you. He almost succeeded."

"Yes," Ginny agreed, with a slight furrow to her brow. "But, he has also apologized, Hermione. People do change. The war changed people. Lucius Malfoy was not exempt from that." She finished in all seriousness.

"He may have apologized to you, but I haven't heard a words of apology from him." She spat.

"Dearest," her grandmother said kindly. "Please sit down. Let's have some dinner and some friendly conversation."

She humphed loudly, but sat in the chair anyway, the fight leaving her body somewhat.

"Ginerva has brought along the stuff to make margarita's. So, let's enjoy the evening and that's that." Collette finished with a triumphant smile.

"It's all fine and dandy. Flowers and rainbows." Hermione muttered under her breath, earning her a scowl from Molly and her grandmother. Ginny simply laughed into her napkin.

"I'm an old lady, Hermione. I might not live to see the dawning of a new year. Indulge this old woman and stand up at your party and make your dear old Grandmother smile."

Collette always had to get the last word in and if sheer force didn't work, she had no problem resorting to guilt.

"Oh, I'll comply alright." She assured the women gathered around the table, with an odd gleam in her eye. "But, don't think for one second that I will hesitate to curse him if he steps out of line."

"I don't know why you insisted on coming into work today." Luna stated, looking at her from her desk across the room. "You've got a big night tonight, you should be resting."

"I think not." She replied. "All those traitorous women are at the house. They are like a gaggle of hens, each one of them intent on driving me batty. Besides, if I'm here than I can relax."

Luna rolled her eyes and Hermione chose to ignore her. She felt at peace in her shop and desperately needed the relaxation before being put on display for the mass of single wizards that were sure to be at the ball later that night.

"Well, if you're going to be here, you can meet with the new supplier." Luna said, placing a folder on her desk. "He gives me the creeps, but I know that you will handle him better."

"Did the company say who would be coming on their behalf?" Hermione asked, her eyes skimming through the folder of information.

With profits up, she had decided that they could definitely do with a stationary line. Having been from the Muggle world, she had noticed that mostly all bookstores carried a range of stationary, be it personalized or ready made. She thought that it would make a good touch, especially with women and teens. Luna had agreed as well, and quickly sought out a supplier.

"No. The person I talked to only said that their rep would be here at one."

"Well, that gives me a few more hours. How is that new set of ad's doing? Bring in any more customers?"

She had been hesitant to place an advertisement in the Prophet, because of the cost, but Luna had suggested that they place it. Their popularity had come from word of mouth, so she had worried that it would seem that they were greedy.

"I think it was a smart move. Sales have gone up a bit since we placed the ad, but it could be due to Malfoy Inc. giving out bonus' early."

Hermione groaned. It seemed that the Malfoy name was on everyone's lips for the past few days. She was dreaded even being in the same room with them tonight.

"Well, isn't that just great." She said sarcastically.

"I think it is." Luna said, her blue eyes bright and shining. "People need the money, plus I guess they gave the bonus' out because Draco was about to become engaged."

"Really?" She asked, shocked. She didn't know how any witch could entertain the thought of being the wife of Draco Malfoy. Sure, she could see it if it was for the money, but in her opinion, there wasn't enough money in the world that could make her deal with having Lucius Malfoy as a father-in-law. "Who's the unfortunate witch?"

"No one knows. I guess we will just have to wait and see." Luna replied dreamily, a far away, too blissful look settling on her friends pale features.

Hermione didn't miss the look that crossed her friends face. It was out of the realm of possibility. There was no way that Luna and Draco.... She had to put her hand up to her mouth to stop from gagging.

She gave up on that line of thinking and pulled out a listing that Minerva had sent over.

With a sizable donation to Hogwarts, Madame Pince had decided to let go of some of their older books to replace them with new copies. The Headmistress had been kind enough to send over the categorized list so that she could have first choice. There were quite a few that she knew she could sell for triple the price that she would buy them for. A few of the names were also ones that she hoped to add to her own collection at home.

As she penned a note to McGonagall, detailing what they would take, an owl flew in through the opened window and landed on Luna's desk.

She gave the snowy owl a treat before sliding the scroll off the birds scrawny leg.

"The appointment has been changed." Luna said, setting the scroll down when she had finished reading it.

"To when?" She asked, a bit annoyed at the last minute change. There wasn't anything she could stand worse than a lack of courtesy.

"The rep has requested a lunch meeting. I guess he will be arriving in straight from Paris and won't have the time to stop and eat before the meeting."

Hermione ground her teeth in annoyance. "Send off a note to let them know that the change is fine. Find out where the rep would like to go."

"Oh, umm..." Luna stuttered. "We don't need to send a reply as it wasn't a request."

"What?" She asked, surprised that the new supplier was so arrogant. They were supposed to want her business, not the other way around. In her opinion, it should be them, bending over for her. "Luna, who is the supplier?"

"Oh," Luna sighed. "Just a company that my father recommended. I think some wrackspurts were flying near my ear, because I can't rightly recall the name."

Hermione took a deep breath and counted to ten to try and ease the strain on her nerves. Through ground out teeth, she asked where she would be meeting the representative for lunch.

"Reservations were made at _Spectre_ for one sharp." Luna read from the note. "I hear from reviews in Witch Weekly that the food is superb."

Not long after, Luna stepped out to grab lunch herself, pinching her cheeks and smoothing down her pale blue work robes in the mirror before leaving.

She decided that it might not be such a bad thing to clean up as she had decided to come into work on a whim and was currently wearing a pair of dark denims and one of Charlie Weasley's quidditch t-shirts that she had stolen one night from the Burrow.

She made her way down the stairs and informed one of the girls at the register that she would be back in twenty minutes.

Five minutes later she was standing in the middle of Twilfitt and Tatting's, surrounded by robes of varying colors.

As she was looking at a set of black robes that resembled the Muggle business suits she liked, she was interrupted by a hand at her shoulder.

"A bit high priced in here for you, don't you think?"

She knew that voice and narrowed her eyes darkly before turning around. That voice had played too often in her daydreams. Of course, they were happy dreams, as she usually had the owner of that voice trained at wand point.

"Not today, Mr. Malfoy. Apparently the sales in the shop have increased since you gave your employees a raise, allowing me to profit from your loss of money." She said snidely, determined to knock him down an inch or two.

"How delightful for you, then." He drawled in that velvety voice that she wasn't sure if she loved or hated. "I do so enjoy helping out those less fortunate."

She humphed at him and decided to ignore his presence and get back to selecting appropriate robes for her lunch meeting.

Hermione thanked the stars when the shop assistant finally wandered over to Malfoy, who, annoyingly, didn't walk away from her like she had hoped.

"I do not require your assistance, but my companion does."

She whipped around quickly at his statement, knowing that he was talking about her.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can pick out what I need just fine." She bit back.

"Oh, I beg to differ, my dear." A pale blond eyebrow shot into the air as his cool gray eyes raked over her form, making her feel self conscience. "No self respecting witch would walk out of her home dressed in that.... what is that?" He asked in disgust at her pants.

"They are jeans, _Lucius." _She told him, not believing that he had never seen a pair before. "And for your information, I wasn't planning on going out today. Something came up and I didn't have a chance to throw on proper robes."

"That is quite obvious."

"You... you..." she stammered. "You are the most irritating man I have ever known."

"Now, now, Miss Granger. We were just having a friendly chat. There's no need for name calling."

"Name calling!" She exclaimed. "You've never missed a chance, since the first time I met you, to call me names."

"I think you might be mistaken, my dear. You seem to confuse me with my son." Lucius reprimanded her, making her feel like a child. "Being called a Mudblood is something that Draco has done. I, on the other hand, have never called you anything outside of your proper name."

She tried to resort to her old method of counting to ease her frustration, but that didn't work so she moved on to the potions ingredients for a Draught of Living Death, intent on using it on him one day. She didn't know how the man was able to do it, insult her and sound so elegant all at once.

"Now, I think, and I'm sure this young lady agrees with me that these robes are a good choice for you." He finished, holding up a black robe that went over a white linen pencil skirt and black sleeveless top.

Looking over at the shop girl, she noticed that the poor girl was nodding her head rather emphatically while looking up at Malfoy like he was Merlin's gift to the world. Whiplash was something that was definitely in the girls future if she continued moving her head like that.

She looked the robes over again and considered saying no, but it would have been childish, given that the outfit was something that she would have picked out herself.

Snatching the robes out of her hand, she made her way over to the counter, skillfully ignoring Lucius Malfoy with all her might.

The shop girl, Emily, she read on her name tag, walked over to the register to ring her up.

"It's seventy five galleons, eight sickles."

Hermione couldn't help but stare at the girl dumbly. That was well over three hundred pounds. She grumbled as she handed over the card that linked to her vault at Gringotts.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of stilettos come flying toward her.

"I assume you weren't planing on wearing _those_," Lucius said from behind her, looking down at her trainers. "to wherever you are going."

In truth, she had forgotten in her haze of annoyance for the eldest Malfoy. "Of course not, I was simply going to wear a pair that I had at the office."

"Of course you were." He nodded his head, not believing her for a second.

"However, I was looking for a pair of shoes and you just happened to read my mind on what I wanted." She smiled brightly at him. "Isn't it wonderful, Malfoy, how alike we are in thinking."

She got some kind of private glee as he flinched and almost dropped the shoes. All to sudden though, he was smiling back at her, stunning her with his quick wit and dazzling hair.

"A wonderful thing, indeed." He placed the shoes on the counter, next to the bag that contained her new robes. "I believe that Miss Granger will be purchasing these as well."

He turned to her then and lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm. She was frozen for a moment and then turned to jelly as his tongue ran over her palm, shocking her but sending a delicious shudder through her body.

He pulled back almost as soon as he touched her, almost causing her legs to get out from under her.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to." He said, bowing his head in her direction. "Until later, my dear."

"It's ninety-two galleons, three sickles." The girl said, handing Hermione back her card.

She cursed, that was the second time in twenty four hours that Lucius Malfoy had left her with a dumbfounded look on her face. She vowed that it would be the last.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this , I make no profit whatsoever from this fanfiction. Harry Potter and all characters belong to J K Rowling.

This I have been working on for the Masquerade Ball challenge for Carapheonix over at Granger Enchanted. I will be multi chaptered and fun. :) Please read and review!!

Paper Faces

_"Why do you like to irritate me so?" "Why do you rise to the occasion?" ~ Ever After_

Chapter 3

Hermione stormed into Parchment and Bindings in a rage, a death grip on the carrier bags from Twilfitt and Tattings. She ignored the questioning looks from her clerks not wanting to explain her current rage. Once again, Lucius Malfoy had gotten under her skin and she had complied to what he wanted.

She threw open the door and used her wand to shut it behind her, throwing up a silencing charm so that she could scream out her frustration without alerting the customers and clerks to her murderous wrath.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

She whipped around, her chocolate hair frizzing out from the magical surge running through her very veins.

"Harry Potter." She called to him quietly. "You were in on this too."

"Honestly, this one had nothing to do with me." Harry said in supplication, his hands held up in front of him as if it would prove his innocence.

"I see that you've already spoken with Ginny then."

"I just wanted to remind you that even if he is there, you don't have to talk to him, dance with him or anything else. You can ignore him and still have your pick from all the other bachelors."

She knew that he was right, but Malfoy just had a way of invading her personal space and her mind. There was no way that she was going to be able to ignore him tonight. She was sure she was going to be nervous and his presence was just to make it even worse.

Her eyes raked her friend over, but stopped when they reached his mouth. His lips were curved up into a silly grin, one that made her palm itch to slap off.

"Did you even try to talk them out of inviting him? Draco was bad enough, but seriously, what were any of you thinking when you decided to invite Lucius Malfoy to my ball?"Hermione asked, hoping to finally get a straight answer.

"You know, I was over in the States a few months ago and saw a show on TV. It was about these sixteen year old girls and their parties."

She leveled him with a dirty look, egging him to continue.

"Anyway, when you said the _"my ball"_, you sounded just like them." Harry finished, cracking himself up at her expense.

She choose to ignore him and went ahead and pulled her new robes and shoes out of the bags, hanging them on the back of the door.

"I can't wait until this is over." She sighed.

Harry stood up from the chair behind her desk and made his way over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It will be and then you can get back to your life with no complications."

She knew he was trying to soothe her and she supposed that it kind of worked. She was grateful for his show of support, needing it to calm her down so that she would appear serene and in full comprehension for her lunch meeting. She could already tell from their demand to change the meeting that this supplier was going to tax her reserves of calm.

"So," Harry breathed out slowly. "What is it that had you coming in here, wand ablaze and magic singeing your hair?"

He pulled at the frizzy strands.

"Lucius Malfoy." She spat. "That man! I swear, Harry. That man has a plan to kill me."

Harry laughed, earning him a cool glare. "I don't think he's trying to kill you, Hermione."

"That's what you think. My death may not be caused by his wand, but by his mouth. The slimy bastard is trying to annoy me to death." She told him in all honesty.

"Sounds like love." He joked.

"Ha," she laughed, shuddering at the thought. "The day Lucius Malfoy falls in love with me is the day that I stop reading Hogwarts: A History."

"I don't know Hermione. He's been raking your feathers for a few years now. One would almost assume it's a juvenile attempt at flirting." He replied, his tone conveying his belief. "You know, kind of like a boy pulling a girls pigtails on the playground kind of thing."

"I have a hard time believing that, but you can think that if you want." She rolled her eyes at his wayward thinking. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Molly asked me to stop by to remind you to be at your grandmother's no later than four." His forehead wrinkled, like he was trying to remember something else. "She said something about hair, artist and milk. I can't be sure though. I was trying to escape."

A smile graced her face at his words. "Why do you think I left?"

"I know that this is not your thing and that you feel that your family is intruding on your personal life, but it's not like that Hermione." He said softly, his emerald eyes shining with tenderness underneath his glasses. "We all love you and it's just that you've been working so hard these past few years, first with the Ministry and then with the store. We just want you to take some time to think of yourself."

Her face softened as she listened to him and promptly pulled him into a tight embrace. "Thanks, Harry. I know that you all mean well and I'm sure that it will be fun."

Harry pulled back from her and she laughed at the blush that stained his cheeks.

"Well, I should get going. I promised Ginny that I would meet Charlie at the Portkey station. She's afraid that he won't get his hair cut before the party."

Her eyes wandered over her friends hair and decided that Charlie wasn't the only one to need a haircut.

"Thanks for stopping by, Harry." She pulled down the wards and opened the door. "Tell those interfering women that I will be there at four like they requested."

He grinned at her and then made his way down the stairs and out the front door.

Hermione breathed deep and gathered up all the papers she would need for the meeting from Luna's desk and put them in a black leather portfolio case. With that done, she ran her wand over her hair, using one of the handy charms that Padma Patil taught her. She looked in the mirror and promptly spelled her makeup on.

She took down her new robes and slid out of the comfortable outfit that she had arrived in. When she put on her shoes, she felt herself slip into confident woman that she had perfected at portraying.

~*~

_Spectre_ was located right at the heart of Diagon Alley. It sat next to the intimidatingly elegant facade of Gringotts, almost seeming to be a part of the goblin run bank. The building was all white marble with imposing columns and ornate silver gilding that gleamed in the surprisingly bright sun of the day.

It had opened only a few months prior but had quickly become the _"it"_ spot of the wizarding elite. The restaurant was always featured in the society pages of the Prophet with influential members of society clambering in the doors to get their names out in the paper, showing off their wealth and privilege by dining at the fifty galleon a plate restaurant.

She knew that Ginny had been pestering Harry to take her, but Harry liked to stay out of the limelight ever since the war. She also knew that the only reason Ginny wanted to go was so that she could wear the Oscar de la Renta gown that she had bought last month with Hermione.

"Reservations, miss?" The host asked as soon as she walked in the door, staring dumbly at the lush décor.

"Oh, umm..." She stuttered, her eyes still taking in the posh silk covered walls and enormous chandeliers that dripped crystals like they were tears. "Hermione Granger."

The host looked over the list and then looked up at her again, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Right this way, please." He said, sweeping with his arm with exaggeration for her to move.

She was surprised that when she was seated that she was alone at the table. "I had expected my companion to be here already. Has he owled yet to say if he will be late?"

"Yes, ma'am. We received an owl about thirty minutes ago, requesting that we hold the table for at least two hours." The host said, turning on his heel with a bow.

"I don't have two hours to wait." She wailed.

"I'm sorry, madame, I should have corrected myself immediately." The host bristled. "Your companion should be here within the next ten minutes. He requested that we keep your table free for two hours so that you would not be interrupted."

She rolled her eyes as he walked away.

A waiter came over only a few minutes later, asking if she would like an appetizer until the representative arrived. She politely declined and he brought over a bottle of champagne, stating that her companion had requested it brought over should he be late.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at drinking so early in the morning, but took a sip of the bubbly beverage none the less.

"Do forgive me for being late, my dear. I was held up."

The champagne sputtered out of her mouth as she was instantly put on guard by that honey coated voice. She looked up as Lucius Malfoy sat down in the chair opposite of her.

"There must be some mistake." She said, sitting down her glass and grabbing her portfolio from the table in front of her. "I'm supposed to be meeting with a representative from a new supplier, not with a Death Eater."

She noticed that he had the grace to dispute her claims.

"A Death Eater, I am not. But, I am the representative from Malfoy Inc." He said smoothly, signaling the waiter over to pour him a glass of champagne.

"You are not out supplier. Luna would have told me." She spat out, sitting back down in her chair.

Her eyes watched as he slowly brought the champagne to his mouth and sipped slowly, nodding his head at the waiter to show that he approved.

"Ah, Miss Lovegood. Yes, I believe it was she who contacted us." His cool gaze raked over her form before continuing. "Malfoy Inc. has a division that deals in paper works. We offer several different types of parchment, from enchanted parchment that created daydreams as you doodle all the way to stationary that when sent to the receiver, calls out it's own formal greeting."

"That's all very well, but why are you here? Why not send someone else?"

"As difficult as it may seem to you, I do take a personal hand in my business dealings." Lucius replied, leveling her with an even stare from his crystalline eyes. "I attempt to handle most deals on my own. Allowing someone else to do it is simply bad business."

She had missed just about everything he said. Her gaze was centered and focused on his full lips that were shining from the champagne that he had been sampling.

She was about to tell him what she thought of his business ethics, but was thankfully saved by the waiter coming to take their order. She was sure that if she wouldn't of been interrupted, she would probably be held at the end of his wand by the time she was through.

"I will have filet and shrimp with a side of summer salad." Lucius looked over at her for a moment, seemingly questioning her, but she didn't know why. "My companion will be having the grilled chicken breast on a bed of wild rice with a port wine reduction sauce." He completed the order and turned his attention back to her.

"I don't want the chicken." She said indigently, annoyed that he seemed to know exactly what she wanted. Of course she wanted the chicken, just like she had wanted the robes from Twilfitt's earlier. The man seemed to have an uncanny ability to read her mind.

"Yes, you did." He stated as his eyes scanned the room, taking note of who else was dining.

"Afraid to be seen in public with a mudblood, Lucius?"

"Not at all, my dear. I was hoping that there was a photographer from the Prophet to document an alliance between our two companies." He said with a sly smile.

"There isn't an alliance as you have yet to tell me what you can offer." She reminded him.

"I've already sent a messenger to your shop with all the details as well as the contract."

"That's very presumptuous of you as there are other suppliers that we can work with."

"That is true, however, you will choose us. As a larger company, we have the ability to give you more of a discount than the other suppliers. You will also find that we offer the latest in charms and assortment. It would be foolish of you to consider a different company, and you, my sweet little witch, are not foolish."

Hermione felt her cheeks redden as the endearment rolled off his tongue. The man had a way of speaking that simply turned her insides to liquid and her mind to mush.

"If you were so sure that we would go into business with you and you already sent the paperwork to my office, then why insist on having lunch?"

One slim finger came to rest on the side of his aristocratic face as he looked her over, making her feel like a bug under a microscope.

"It's quite simple, actually. I was due to have lunch at this hour and I thought you would make a wonderful companion for a few hours."

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not so she brushed aside his comment for a moment, hoping to think of a good comeback and began to take a bite into her food that had appeared, magically, on the table.

"You would not have been on my list for a companion." She reminded him snottily, patting herself on the back but still had to admit that her response was quite lame and dull, lacking in her usual wit.

"You wound me, however, I suppose that I will just have to change your mind." Lucius smiled, the corner of his lips curving up into a Cheshire grin. "You will see. One day you won't be able to brush me aside so easily."

For some reason, she didn't think that he was joking.

~*~

She stood in her bedroom at Chevening house, the same as she had done just the day before. Makeup charms had been applied to her face, enhancing the aged whiskey color of her eyes and painting her lips a startling shade of crimson. Christophe had seen to her hair, taking the massive amount of curls and taming them into a sleek chignon that looked like it could fall with just the slightest breath of wind. She could even see the subtle highlights that he had discreetly placed in the strands per request of her grandmother.

The glory, however was the stunning red gown that now fit her body like a glove. The satin clung to her curves like second skin, accentuating the subtle swell of her hips and breasts. The scarlet ribbons that laced up the back of her gown showed off the glowing creaminess of her skin, creating a striking contrast. She had to admit, she looked good, very upscale.

Inhaling deeply, she ran her gloved hands over the satin, erasing non-existent wrinkles in the luscious confection of material.

"You ready for this?" Ron asked from his seat in the corner of the room.

He had come in not long after Christophe had finished with her hair, attempting to ease her nerves.

"No." She answered him plainly. "But, I will be happy when this is all over. I don't exactly relish being desert to the eligible bachelors of the wizarding world."

He chuckled lightly, knowing how she was. "Well, in that dress with your hair like that, you look like the cherry on top of the sundae. Quite delicious."

She narrowed her eyes at him. For Merlin's sake, he was her friend and it was his duty to make her feel better when she was essentially being placed on display by Collette and her friends.

"You know, Hermione. This isn't just about finding you a husband, it's also to celebrate your birthday." He tried to remind her to take her mind off the real reason for the ball her grandmother was throwing.

"That would be wonderful, but you all seem to forget that my birthday isn't for another two months. A bit early to be celebrating, don't you think?"

"Worth a shot, eh?" Ron shrugged and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, and I appreciate it." She thanked him. "You look nice tonight. You clean up good."

The famous Weasley blush covered his face, originating from his nose and extending all the way to his ears. It almost matched the red of his hair.

A knock sounded at the door and Ron stood up to open it as she made her way into the en suite bathroom to spritz her favorite perfume over her pulse points.

"I didn't know that we needed to bring gifts." He mumbled as he leaned against the doorway, a large black case wrapped with a wide sating bow resting on his palms.

"I told you, my birthday isn't for a few months, so it's no big deal Ronald."

"Well, someone obviously got you a gift."

She rolled her eyes and took the box out of his hands.

"I'll uhh leave you to it then." He stumbled, a faint look of jealousy crossing his grown features. "You look really pretty, Hermione. You're going to make some guy very lucky one day." He added, shutting the door quietly as he left.

After a quick, but passionate romance, they had broken off not six months after the war. She had been dedicated to her work as had he. With pressure coming from their friends, mainly his mother, they had decided to call it quits and remain as friends. There were still moments between them, but nothing worth making a fuss over. She was content to stay in her shop, working her wand off to get it top notch and he was more than pleased to be out with a new witch on his arm every couple of weeks. She was pretty sure that right now, the lucky girl was Pansy Parkinson, but she couldn't be sure.

She moved quietly to the bed and sank down carefully, spreading the skirt of the gown around her so as to not crush the delicate material. With hesitant hands, she slowly opened the lid to the velvet box. Inside was a note.

She pulled it out and scanned over it, not really reading the words on the parchment. Instead, she placed it out of the way to find that the box was empty. She picked the note back up, sure that it was some kind of prank.

_The beginning of a set_

She turned the parchment over, not really surprised to see that there was nothing else on the card. When she sat the card down and looked into the case again, she was surprised to see what was there waiting for her.

Nestled in the dark velvet was a dazzling display of art. The necklace was a wreath of marquise and pear shaped diamonds that shone brilliantly in the light. Inside of it, curled up like a snake was a matching bracelet and earrings.

Gingerly, she pulled the precious gems out of the case and clasped them carefully around her neck, wrists and lobes. The effect was startling. In the mirror, her skin blazed from the glittering jewels.

"Shall we go down?" Collette asked, stepping into the room.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I was lost in thought." She apologized, tearing her eyes away from her reflection.

As they got to the grand staircase, Hermione looked over the crowd below and had to remind herself to breath. There were so many people, too many, in her opinion.

Sucking it up, she linked arms with her grandmother and made her descent into what she was going to describe as the pit of wolves with her as the only food for miles around.

* * *

There you go, duckies! Another chapter. You will probably get another one tonight as well. It's been kind of nice working on something new that's fun and lighthearted since everything else I do is so serious and angsty. Please review, even the lurkers who just add to their favorites or alerts. That's right, I'm looking at you loves! I love to hear what you have to say and honestly, it only takes a minute to click the button and say, "Great job" or "I want naked Lucius.". Something to that effect. LOL


	4. Chapter 4

Paper Faces

Chapter 4

"_A lot of people are under the impression that you get to choose who you love."_

_~ Leroy, The Mexican_

Hermione fidgeted as she waited for Kingsley to stop talking. The man, whose company she usually found interesting, was boring her to tears. Her feet hurt from clumsy dances with equally clumy males, her head was pounding from the tight pins holding up her hair, her ribs were aching from tightly corseted gown. The worst was her cheeks. Her entire face was screaming in agony from the forced smiles she was bestowing on the eligible bachelors for her grandmother's benefit. She wished she had her wand, but Harry _intent on saving the world_ Potter had confiscated as soon as she had walked into the room at Collette's side.

"Please excuse me, Kingsley, my grandmother is calling for me." She lied, a pathetic attempt, but he seemed to believe her none the less.

The Minister of Magic gently placed a kiss to her hand and asked to save him a dance later into the night, a waltz, he said he would prefer. She quickly nodded her head and then ran like a bat out of hell to the French doors that lead out onto the terrace.

She didn't breath until she reached the stone balustrade and leaned against it's cold surface. Her eyes followed the dark line of trees and tried to relax in the quiet away from the party.

At the beginning of the evening, she had known that this party was going to tax her reserves of calm, she just hadn't planned on exactly how much it was going to take out of her. The truth was that she was happy with her life and didn't feel the need to change it.

She had watched friends and people she had gone to school with marry, have children, divorce and then go out and do it all over again. She didn't want that, didn't want that kind of interruption in her life. And this ball, it was just a joke. There was no way, regardless of what her Grandmother believed, that you can find love or a life partner in one night. She knew that in this day and age, you could barely find someone worth screwing in just one night.

'Maybe it's you', she thought cynically as she turned back towards the doors.

"Maybe you just haven't found the right one." A mocking voice came from the shadowed corner of the terrace.

She couldn't see his face, only the orange glow from the lit end of a cigar. Hermione wondered how she missed him, but then again, the man just seemed to have the ability to just show up. She also didn't want to admit that when she had first descended the stairs over an hour ago, that she had been scanning the gathered crowd for his face. Of course, that had only been because she had wanted to tell him to leave.

"I didn't give you leave to read my thoughts, Mr. Malfoy." She said tartly, picking up the train of her gown and making her way back towards the party. She didn't care that she was being rude.

"There was no reason to read your thoughts, my dear, for you spoke them out loud." Lucius stepped out from the shadows and her heart did that weird flip-flop thing that it always seemed to do in his presence.

He was dressed impeccably is robes of the deepest black. Over his broad shoulders was a massive coat that hang to his ankles and she couldn't help it as her gaze ran, appreciatively, down the length of his body. Up and down, again and again until it reached his arrogant face. His lips were turned up at the corner and his startling gray eyes were fixed on her with humor in their depths.

"Although, I can assure you that the problem doesn't lie with you. From where I'm standing, there's nothing that could deter a man from wanting to be with you." He said lazily, his eyes lingering on body that wouldn't seem to move as he spoke.

Her insides melted at the hint of an attraction from him. There was just something about him, maybe it was his powerful form, or maybe those perfectly proportioned hands. Maybe it was that the man was hotter than hell that caused her body to go so out of whack, turned her so... hot.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she replaced them with a feeling of indignation and anger to cover her more traitorous thoughts, refusing to admit that she might be attracted to him as well.

"From where your standing, it's possible that you might not be seeing me clearly. Or maybe it's your advancing age that makes you forget that I'm Hermione Granger, Mudblood Extraordinaire."

"Oh really Miss Granger, that kind of language is hardly becoming of an heiress." He said, taking another steps towards her, which naturally placed her back against the stone railing, causing her to reach out for him.

The moment her hands touched the folds of his robes, she could feel his heat radiating out towards her, drawing her in. It didn't even occur to her to push him away, on the contrary, her mind was telling her to move closer, to press her body against his scorching heat, just to see if she could get burned.

Her head went fuzzy as she leaned in, her curves pressing against the expensive fabric of his robes, her nose going right for his chest. He was all fresh citrus and warm musky subtleness. It was seductive, it was sense numbing, it was all male, all him. The man was sex on a stick and he was literally on a platter severed up in front of her.

"Finally, you stop talking." Lucius' voice was heavy as he removed his hands from her lower back, she hadn't even noticed them there to begin with.

She was disoriented as he moved away from her, that sly grin still crossing his lips, but his eyes, the liquid silver had turned molten as they looked her over.

"You, you..." she stammered, not thinking of something scathing to reply back with.

Instead, she took the cowards road and walked away from him to go back into the party. His hand on her wrist stopped her before she could even touch the door.

He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and twisted the levered handle. "Allow me."

"If you think that I'm going to dance with you, Mr. Malfoy, you can forget it right now." She whispered harshly so that only he could hear.

"Ah, but now that we are in the midst of company, there is no way that you can turn me down." He said, leaning down and whispering to her, his lips touching the shell of her ear. "You wouldn't want to be a bad hostess, now would you?"

Her aged whiskey eyes glared at him as she realized that every eye in the room had turned to them and damn if he wasn't right. She couldn't refuse him without everyone in the ballroom noticing.

"Try to calm down, dearest. Your ears are turning the same color as that sinful gown you are wearing. We wouldn't want that color to spread down to that delectable décolleté." He turned her in his arms and started moving them to the slow, measured rhythm of the music. "Smile at me, darling."

She found that she couldn't refuse him, as much as she wanted to. Hermione did find that she could smile at him, after she purposefully dug her heel into his foot. Then she beamed at him.

"Smile, darling." She reminded him, laughing gaily as he grimaced in pain. "You wouldn't want anyone to think that I've been unkind towards you. Actually, it would be in _your_ best interest to smile. You definitely wouldn't want anyone in the room to think that _you _have been unkind to me, given your rather _sordid_ past. Don't you think?"

"Touche, my love, touche." He said, placing a serene look on his face, even though she knew that his foot had to be aching. "You play the game well."

"This is no game to me and I would prefer it if you left. Why are you even here anyway?" She asked, demanding answers.

"One never turns down an invitation from the aristocracy, even if they are Muggles."

"See, this is why you shouldn't be here. You have no respect for other cultures and you being here is just so that you can look down your all too handsome nose at the rest of us mere peasants." She replied tartly, even though her brain was begging for her to admit that his presence had definitely made the night more interesting for her.

"I never referred to anyone assembled as peasants." He turned her with a flick of his wrist. "Although, the Weasley's do leave something to be desired."

She noticed his gaze had moved to Molly Weasley and her atrocious yellow gown. She wanted to laugh, but didn't dare. Hermione didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Well, you're egotistical." She snapped. "It's rude to judge others when you know nothing of their lives."

"And you're beautiful." He returned. "Although a damned liar because we both know that you're thinking of that woman's poor choice in clothing even though we both know that she can afford better."

She didn't even know how it happened, but even through their bickering, she was relaxed in his arms.

"You infuriate me. Do you know that?" She asked him hotly.

"Mmmmm... but that's part of the joy. Seeing you angry at me," his head pressed down to her hair again, his tongue taking her ear lobe in between his teeth and nipping gently. "makes me want to shred that gown from your body and spread you across the banquet table."

Her knee's buckled underneath her and her hands clenched into the tight muscles of his back. He caught her easily and she looked around, thanking the stars that no one noticed.

He raised her easily and turned her body back into the dance with little effort. He didn't acknowledge what he had said to her and it almost made her think that she had imagined it.

When the song ended, he bent at the waist and kissed her hand, turning it over so that his lips touched the skin of her palm. As he straightened, his fingers rested against the smooth skin of her neck, and she held her breath, caught between hoping that he would stop touching her, but more importantly, hoping that he would trace them further down her chest.

She didn't get her wish as his perfectly manicured finger ran down the length of her neck and along her collar bone, stopping when it hit the blazing diamonds at her throat.

"I knew that these would look lovely on you when I purchased them."

Hermione knew that her mouth was hanging wide open and that it wasn't a very becoming look for her.

"They will look even lovelier when they are the only thing on your skin." He turned on his heel and walked across the room to chat up the Minister and school governors.

She turned to her left and narrowed her gaze at the man standing next to her. "You know, ferret, I really hate your father."

The younger Malfoy chuckled at her outburst, but offered her his arm anyway, which she stupidly took. "I doubt that he feels the same way towards you."

She allowed him to steer her through the crowd, a forced smile on her face for the assembled bachelors. She wasn't even paying attention to where they stopped.

"Hermione, allow me to introduce you to my fiancé." Draco said smoothly, motioning to the blonde woman in front of him.

The world had gone topsy-turvy. Luna Lovegood was marrying Draco sodding Malfoy. Her grandmother had lost her mind in planning this party. Molly Weasley was wearing a gown that made her look like a lemon and Lucius Malfoy was now suddenly standing beside her. The world had definitely gone crazy because she found herself leaning against him as she let everything finally soak into her mind.

She didn't know what was worse, that he was attracted to her and that the attraction was mutual or that she was envisioning a world in which she didn't want to curse him at the drop of a hat. Yeah, she was definitely losing it because she was suddenly putting her hand in his. Definitely crazy and the night had just begun.

* * *

Sorry it took so long to get out! I've had an extremely busy summer and just haven't had the time to write. Things should settle down over the next few weeks, and then hopefully (no promises) we should be back on some kind of an update schedule. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. 3


	5. Chapter 5

I always find myself apologizing for the lateness in chapters. Perhaps that's something I should work on. Anyway, here you go. Enjoy!

* * *

Paper Faces

"_Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then." ~Katherine Hepburn_

Chapter 5

"You seem surprised, Hermione." Luna said in that dreamy voice that made Hermione want to scream. "I could have sworn I told you about our engagement."

Instead of screaming, she brought her champagne glass to her lips again, only to discover that the liquid she so desperately craved, was gone. Lucius, still standing annoyingly at her side, offered her his tumbler of whiskey. She drank deep, while three sets of eyes watched her over the rim of the glass.

"Isn't it wonderful news?" Lucius asked her, digging his elbow subtly into her side.

"Oh yes," she replied, thanking the gods as the liquor burned down her throat. "Wonderful news indeed. I'm sure that you will both be very happy."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Lucius' eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Luna was hoping that you would stand as maid of honor, didn't you darling?" Draco said to his fiancé, wrapping his arm around the blonde's slim shoulders and planting a light kiss at her temple. She fought down the urge to gag. The thought of anyone marrying into that horrendous family, made her stomach turn violently.

"Mmmm...," she smiled and nodded, drowning the rest of the whiskey and handing the glass back to Lucius. She was ready to go, ready to get out of this ballroom that was stuffed with people who were insane. "I would be delighted." She finally answered, plastering a bright smile on her face.

"Would you?" Luna gushed. "I've been thinking quite a lot on it and I was thinking of purple for the attendant gowns..."

Hermione cut her off before she could go any further. "That just sounds fab Luna, maybe we can talk about it on Monday over lunch. Oh, excuse me, Harry is waving me over. Guests to greet and all that."

She picked her train up over her arm, weaving a bit, well, a lot, unsteadily as she started to walk away. "Wonderful that could all make it. Luna, Draco, congratulations again. Mr. Malfoy, I would say that it's a delight seeing you again, but as we all know, I'm a horrible liar. Enjoy the party."

Her lips turned up into a wicked grin as she turned on her heel, Lucius' shock apparent on his face. Her senses had finally came back to her.

"Oh, one last thing," she said smartly, turning around to face the elder Malfoy once again. She pulled her hands up to her neck to fumble with the clasp of her necklace. "Diamonds are so out this year, Malfoy, rubies are much more the thing."

Before she could even move, his wand was out, tracing the wreath of diamonds that circled her neck. Blood red rubies replaced the precious clear stones. When she looked at her wrist, she noticed that the stones there had changed too and she was willing to bet that the same was true for the earrings in her lobes.

"If diamonds aren't agreeable to you then we shall just have to keep changing until you like what you see." He drawled lazily, his fingers encircling her wrists. Preventing her from walking away from him until he was good and ready to let her go. "Happy Birthday Darling." He smiled and leaned down, kissing her directly on the lips before she could protest.

When he pulled away from her, Hermione placed her fingers to her lips, still feeling the scorching heat of his lips against hers. Her indignation rose again. "You are just..."

"Wonderful, I know." He smirked at her, his light gray eyes dancing with laughter and her palm itched to slap that god-awful smile off his face.

"I'm pretty sure that's not what she was going to say, Mr. Malfoy." Luna remarked, causing Hermione to look at her stupidly. Luna still hadn't gotten out of the habit of stating the obvious.

"And who might this be?" Hermione heard a voice over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. There was no end to the freaking night in sight.

She gritted her teeth and turned to see her grandmother, the Countess of Chesterfield, walking up to their small group. For being in her late seventies, her grandmother looked as regal as any queen. Her gown was a dazzling crème silk that draped elegantly over her thin body. Around her throat blazed a pearl and diamond necklace that had been in the family for generations. On top of her thick gray hair sat a dainty coronet. She looked every bit the aristocrat that she was.

Speaking up for her, Lucius quickly introduced himself and placed a gentle kiss on Collette's hand. Hermione saw through his charm though. On the inside, she bet, that Lucius was only thinking bad things. Despite his hotness, she was still pretty sure that he was just as much of a bigot and jerk deep down. Merlin, she really hated him, even if his hair was just begging for her fingers.

"So, you're the engaging Mr. Malfoy?" Her grandmother beamed at Lucius and Hermione wanted to vomit. "I've heard such wonderful things about you from my granddaughter, wonderful things indeed."

Hermione snorted. "Not bloody likely," she said under her breath, earning her a slight glare from Lucius.

Collette brushed her aside and stepped into their group. Hermione narrowed her eyes at Luna, who was laughing quietly.

She closed her ears to the chatter that surrounded her and mentally ticked off the seconds until she would finally be free to leave this mess of a night behind and get herself to her flat and her normal life once again. All she wanted was some piece and quiet, to be surrounded by her books, the shop and a bottle of good wine. She didn't want to speak with her friends or family for a month. And she definitely didn't want anything more to do with Lucius, holier than though, lord of the world, Malfoy.

"I was really quite surprised when she said yes. Honestly, Countess, I thought it would take much longer to bring her around." Lucius said smoothly, Hermione noticing that once again he was standing next to her, his arm snaked possessively around her waist. Didn't the man have any understanding of personal space, she thought to herself. Surely he wasn't blind to her dislike of him. Although if she wanted to be truthful, part of her wasn't as adverse to him as she would like.

"You sly dear." Collette said, her eyes shining brightly and fixed on her granddaughter. "To not tell any of us. Tsk, tsk. Although, I can see why you wouldn't want any of us to know. Afraid someone might snatch him away from you?"

"Tell you what? Snatch what away?" Hermione asked, honestly confused. She always knew that her daydreaming would get her into trouble.

"There's no need to keep it secret any longer." Ferret boy said, laughing at some inside joke that Hermione was obviously out of the loop on.

"You're quite right dear boy!" Collette exclaimed, signaling to the band leader to stop the music. "No need to keep it to yourself any longer. That is what tonight is all about after all. There's no need to put everyone through the torture of their dreams not coming true."

Before she could be stopped, her grandmother clasped her hand and dragged her along up to the stage that the orchestra was set up on, muttering about her life's goal finally being achieved all the way.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Collette's voice rang out through the microphone. "To start, my granddaughter and I would like to thank you all for coming out tonight and celebrating her birthday. It has been a lovely evening and we are so delighted that could join us." The countess smiled at her. "Happy Birthday, my beautiful granddaughter."

Collette seemed to choke up for a moment as unshed tears lined her eyes. She recovered quickly, and Hermione started to panic as the woman stepped up to the microphone once again. "Now, if we could all grab a glass so that I might toast my wonderful granddaughter and her happy news."

A chorus of cheers came through the room and Hermione smiled so brightly her teeth hurt. A glass of champagne was pressed into her hand by a passing waiter.

"Would you please raise your glasses while I congratulate her on her upcoming marriage. I wish you both the best in your future together."

The words took a few moments to sink into her mind and when they did, in a classic move, the champagne sputtered out of her mouth. She wished that she was watching a film and laughing at the characters instead of knowing that it was her life.

"Excuse me?" She cried, her eyes wide with confusion.

"Smile, dearest. You wouldn't want anyone to think that you were unhappy." Lucius said from beside her, his perfect teeth gleaming brightly under the lights. Gods, the man was quickly becoming a lost puppy that just wouldn't go away.

"To Lucius and Hermione." Collette's voice said over the room, that was soon repeated with a loud chorus of the same words from the crowd.

She looked with horror at the man beside her and was about to protest when he dipped his head in for another kiss. All thoughts of refusing him were erased as his tongue probed at her mouth, seeking entrance. She quickly gave in as a heavy flow of electricity shot through her body, turning her senses and nerves on end as he invaded her mouth with the hottest kiss she had ever had.

Obviously feeling up to a show, the usually condescending man sunk his fingers into the curls at her neck and slipped his arm around her back, his body coming flush against hers. She could feel his iron hard erection pressing into her gown as he dipped her low for an extra bit of flash. Her fingernails dug into the robes covering his thick arms. Sweet Circe, she wanted this man. She wanted to feel his heavy weight on top of her as he fucked her. She could always pretend it was someone else, but as soon as the thought entered her head, an image of him pressed center into her mind.

When the cheers stopped, he finally released her. She glared at him, wishing that her eyes had the power to bore into him, not unlike a muggle laser. She was imagining ways to kill him when a few thoughts entered her head. Didn't he hate her? Didn't he want her kind eradicated from the wizarding world? Hadn't he made her life miserable with all his rudeness and general conceit? She vowed that she would get to the bottom of it, and when she did. He was going to pay and pay dearly. For tonight though, she would go along with it, if for nothing more than to not have to dance with any more men who would step on her toes. One night, she promised, and that was it. She would stop the charade tomorrow.

With a calm smile on her face, she thanked the assembled guests and allowed Lucius to escort her back onto the dance floor.

He didn't speak to her, in fact, he seemed to be ignoring her on purpose.

"I think that you did a horrible job of proposing." She prodded at him. "You must be quite down on your luck to have not even purchased your fiancé a wedding ring."

Without missing a beat, he reached into his robes and pulled out a stunning diamond ring and slipped it on her finger.

"It's too snug." She said, feeling quite churlish.

"No it's not." He said finally. "Stop being a child."

She stomped her foot. "I'm not acting like a child."

He briefly glanced down at her, his eyes looking down his stupid aristocratic nose and confirming what he had stated.

"You just told everyone that I am going to marry you!" She exclaimed, but quickly lowered her voice as several heads turned their way. "Why would you do that?"

"I am in need of a wife. You fit my qualifications." He shrugged.

"I want the truth, Lucius."

"The only truth you need to worry about is whether you want me to spread you across that table over there and spank your delectable ass until you can't mouth off to me or if you're going to be a good girl and then I will wait and take you home and have you scream my name over and over until you can't speak at all." He whispered into her ear, causing desire to coil in her stomach.

"If you think that I'm going to allow this charade to continue, you are sorely mistaken." She replied back, her voice just as dangerous as she knew his could be.

His gray eyes glittered in the wake of her challenge as he stepped away from her so that his son could take over for the next dance.

She watched him walk away, unsure of whether her limbs were shaking due to her hatred or her desire for the man.

"Now, now, Step Mummy. Don't get your panties in a knot. It will go much better for you to simply acquiesce to his proposal. This is a game that you definitely won't win and for Merlin's sake, I don't know why you would want to. My father is a man who does everything for a reason and always gets what he wants."

Hermione straightened up to her full height. She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing. If it was her party, she could cry if she wanted to. Well, in this instance, she wasn't going to cry. She was simply going to leave.

She left Draco staring open mouthed at her and walked over to St. Potter. She didn't ask, she simply reached into his dress robes and pulled her wand out.

Her eyes traveled across the room to where they meet with Lucius'. She wasn't going down without a fight and now was as good of a time as any to show him, to show them all.

A brilliant smile crossed her crimson lips as she waved her wand and disappeared from the ballroom with a pop. She heard his laughter chasing after her as the tight tube of apparition closed around her.


	6. Chapter 6

Paper Faces

Chapter 6

_Never go to bed mad...stay up and fight._

_~ Phyllis Diller_

She considered going home, she really did. She even apparated to the door of her flat, but quickly turned around and disappeared to her book shop. When she saw the invoice from Malfoy Inc. laying on her desk, she turned around and left with a pop from there as well. That's how she ended up here,

standing in the middle of the Three Broomsticks, her gown still on, rubies still blazing at her throat and her hair still up in the damnable pins.

She was mad. Hermione Granger was livid.

She quickly took a seat at the back of the bar and started yanking on the diamond pins, hoping for a bit of freedom from the tightness that enveloped her poor scalp. Scowling when they wouldn't pull loose, she gave up and ordered a shot instead.

Madame Rosemerta took her order and quickly returned with the drink and the bottle as well. She took a seat across from her, causing Hermione to narrow her eyes in tightly at the witch across from her.

"What are you doing here little Missy? Don't you have a nice fancy party you're supposed to be at?"

She wasn't surprised that Rosemerta knew about the party, everyone in the wizarding world did and had pretty much been invited. Hence why she came here and not to any of her friends homes, the treacherous liars that they were. The other reason was because said friends were still at the mansion celebrating her supposed engagement. Speaking of.

She turned her attention away from her glass and from the pretty barmaid to the gleaming rock on her finger. The damn thing wouldn't budge.

"Oh, I'll kill him. I really will." She swore as she tossed back another shot, ignoring the sly glances the Madame was sending her. "First I'll cut off all that pretty hair, then I'll... I'll. Well, I'll do something bad to him."

"It's not very often that you come in here. What happened to you?" Rosemerta asked and Hermione was very happy to see the witch pushing her chair back from the table slowly. Good, she thought, let her be weary. It was time that people remembered who she was, a war heroine, perfectly capable of kicking some ass.

"Not what, who." She seethed.

"And _who_ might that be?"

"Lucius _master of the universe_ Malfoy." She spat out in a false soprano that didn't quite match the fury that raged inside her.

She tried counting to ten to ease her anger, but that didn't work. She moved on to potions ingredients, but found herself making a draught of living death instead of just cataloging.

"That man has more nerve than Rita Skeeter at the scene of an accident." She continued to rage, not even noticing that Rosemerta had started to walk away. "He had the audacity to propose to me. Can you believe it? And he didn't even do it properly. Pompous git!"

"Did you say that you're engaged to Lucius Malfoy?" Rosemerta asked, her heels grinding to a halt and turning around quicker than a tornado in trailer park.

"No," Hermione exclaimed. "He told the world we were engaged then stuck a ring on my finger. He didn't ask, he told."

"Well, I would say congratulations. It takes a real woman to tame that beast." The witch winked and smiled brightly at her. "I wish you the best of luck."

She started to protest but knew that it would do no good. The population thought the world of the Malfoy's, revered them even. It made her sick. In her opinion there was nothing good about Lucius Malfoy except for his smell. And maybe his body, she admitted a moment later.

When she looked up a minute later, she was alone at her table and drawing several curious glances. She decided that she had had enough. She left a couple galleons to pay for her drink and tip and promptly left the bar, not even bothering to wave farewell to Madame Rosemerta.

As she walked down the cold streets of Hogsmeade she realized that she couldn't let Lucius get away with this. When she passed Honeydukes she decided that he was going to give her the answers she wanted. By the time she got to Zonko's, she had a plan. She just hoped she wasn't going to die doing it.

* * *

She was nervous as she stood outside of the impressive gates. Truth be told, she was amazed that she had made it this far. She had gotten through the wards without any trouble and passed through the first set of gates to arrive at the ones before her.

Grimacing slightly, she raised her hand and the gate turned to smoke, allowing her passage. When she stepped through, she heard the sound of the iron solidifying again. She would have felt triumphant at her passage through such impressive security, but as the last of the iron scroll work became solid, she only felt trapped.

Deciding that it was too late to turn back now, the made her way up to the drive to the impressive mansion.

She counted to three and knocked.

A tiny elf answered the door with a beaming smile on her small face.

"Oh, missus." The elf exclaimed. "Please come in and warm yourself at the fire."

Hermione glanced at the elf shrewdly before taking the final step that lead her into the manor.

She followed the creature up the grand staircase, passing several whispering and pointing portraits until they arrived at a long corridor lit by soft candles. The elf grasped her hand and she felt herself being sucked into a vacuum and transported to who knew where.

She landed outside of a set of massive mahogany doors, embellished with an intricately carved M in the wood and thick gold handles. The doors opened automatically and the elf vanished with a loud crack, not saying a word to her.

She walked slowly into the room and looked around at her surroundings, trying to deny where she was. With one look at the imposing four poster bed, marble fire place and painting on the mantle, she was sure that she was in a bedroom. Lucius Malfoy's bedroom to be exact.

She turned on her heel, her courage suddenly failing her and started calling loudly for the elf. The only answer she received was the doors shutting behind her, essentially locking her in.

Deciding to form another plan, she pulled her wand out from the leather holster on her thigh and held it trained in front of her, ready to use it if necessary. She wouldn't hesitate to hex the man. She wouldn't hesitate to do worse.

She explored the room, finding two closets, one full of shoes, ties and other accessories and one stuffed to the brim with expensive robes. On the right side of the room, she opened a door and found it to be a luxury bathroom with black marble touches and a bathtub that would hold a Quidditch team. She quickly closed that door, keeping it in the back of her mind as a possible hiding spot.

There were floor to ceiling French doors next to the bathroom and she quickly examined them. She pushed the heavy pale gold curtains out of the way and checked the lock on the doors. They wouldn't give an inch and apparently the glass was shatterproof, even against magic.

Sinking into a chair near the fire, she sighed in defeat and then promptly scolded herself on her stupidity. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to venture into Malfoy Manor without an armed Auror escort.

Hermione didn't know how it was able to happen, but every time she was near Lucius Malfoy, her brain just seemed to work on the fritz. Her rational thinking took a vacation and her volatile side took over, forcing her to do things that she wouldn't normally do or say. Maybe he had cast some sort of spell on her all those years ago during the war. She wouldn't put it past him to curse children.

"And here I thought that you left so that you could make a scene in public." She heard his drawling voice from the corner of the room.

Her eyes darted around until they located him in the shadowy corner. She cursed herself at her stupidity for forgetting to cast a _homenum revelio_. Of course he would use magic to conceal himself. Probably had a nice laugh while he was there, watching her poke through all his things.

As soon as he moved, she was on her feet, her mouth in a determined line and her wand fixed on his beautiful face. He walked around her slowly and she matched each movement of his body with a corresponding one on her own. He wouldn't catch her off guard, not again.

"To have you here though, a wonderful surprise indeed. I see that the wards recognized you." Lucius said conversationally before coming to stand behind the chair that she had just vacated. "You must have been very eager to see me to not give a thought to what my wards could do to you."

"Well, actually..." she started, but ended up just standing there with her mouth wide open like a fishwife.

"Don't harm yourself, darling. The ring on your finger claims you as Lady Malfoy. You can pass through the wards without difficulty. However, I suggest that you always wear it when you are here." He spoke as if he were talking to a child. "This is an old house. An old house built by nasty, dark wizards. Not all of it's dangers have been removed and you will need that ring so that it doesn't try and bite you."

His hand shot out and she let out a small scream, only to hear him laugh. "Please, sit."

"If you think that I'm going to sit down while you're standing, you're sorely mistaken buster." She said, refusing to budge on this.

"Buster, how interesting." He murmured while grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit.

She started to argue, until she felt his hands in her hair. She couldn't stop the moan that came out of her mouth as the first pin was removed. She promptly covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from making any further outbursts.

"Christophe used to see to Narcissa's hair." He said as he continued to pull the diamond pins out of her curls. "He always forgets to tell his witches that the style can only be undone by a man."

She tilted her head up towards him, a questioning look on her face.

"His private joke." Lucius laughed and pulled out the last one, finally letting her free. "He thinks too highly of his creations."

"I will be sure to tell him that the next time I see him." Hermione said dryly although she was blissfully happy to have feeling come back into her head.

She felt more than saw him move away from her. "Drink?" He asked and she looked at him dumbly. "No, I suppose not. You have had quite enough already, haven't you? It's what gave you the courage to come here."

"That's not..." She started but he cut her off.

"No matter. You're ring was a portkey that would have activated at midnight in any case." He said fluidly as he took a sip of what she could only assume was the finest brandy.

"A portkey?" Hermione stammered, her courage and anger finally returning to it's rightful place, on her tongue. "What gave you the right to do that?"

She stood up and marched over to the door. She could feel her anger all the way down to her toes. "You are delusional!" She exclaimed as she tried for the doors. When they wouldn't budge she started banging on them. "Why are you doing this to me? What do you want from me?"

He was behind her in an instant, that delicious heat of his pressed against her body. She shivered in delight.

His voice was low and silky against her ear. "I thought I had made myself clear."

She turned quickly, but found herself imprisoned between his arms that were now planted on either side of her head. "No, you haven't."

"Well then. Let me show you."

He started to dip his head down and she quickly turned out of the way. "Oh no you don't. I'm not going to let you get me all fumbled in the head with your kisses. Not this time."

She smiled as Lucius backed his head up, but quickly lost her victory as she saw the cunning sneer that crossed his lips.

"You're going to give me answers and you're going to give them to me now." She demanded, remembering her wand and bringing it up to his throat.

He walked backwards until his knees his the edge of the four postered bed. Her lips twisted up into a devious smirk. She had brought him low, showed him who was master for now.

"Why are you pursuing me?" Hermione asked. "And no lies."

"I told you." He sneered back at her. "I am in need of a wife and you fit the bill perfectly."

"You're lying." She tossed back at him, her eyebrow raising, daring him to refute it. "You can have any woman in the world. Most would willingly lie at your feet and kiss your toes. So," she jabbed his neck, "why are you pursuing me?"

"I find you interesting." He ground out in a voice that she didn't find very becoming on him.

"Don't you hate me? You've always done everything you could to make my life miserable, the laws at the ministry, talking Luna into using you as a supplier. If it annoyed me, you did it." She finished finally and didn't realize that in her speech she had walked herself between his legs.

In a deft move, he pulled her wand out of her hand and tossed it across the room. She then found herself trapped underneath his firm, hard body, her wrists caught in one of his large hands while his other hooked under her leg and lifted it, pressing them intimately against each other.

"My dear," He whispered huskily. "I don't hate you. Far from it. I find myself intrigued by you and I intend to have you."

His lips descended hungrily on hers and she found her refusal leaving her as desire took its place.

* * *

Am I the only one who just finds him as delicious as a cupcake on Atkins? Oh, and how he looked in DH? MMMMM... anyway, you know the deal! Review my lovelies!


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the wait. I've had this chapter done for quite a while. I'm uneasy on it. I know I should have went a different way with it, but this is what came to me. So, I hope you like it!

* * *

Paper Faces

Chapter 7

_True love is like a pair of socks: you gotta have two and they've got to match._

When he lifted his lips from hers, Hermione quickly drew in ragged breaths. There was nothing like being kissed by Lucius Malfoy. It wasn't just a meeting of lips and tongues. It was an erotic dance, an earth shattering experience, and orgasm without the sex. He had the ability to just make you crave him and the things that he could do to your body by barely touching you.

Yes, he was that good, and a part of her hated him for it.

"Are you going to give in to me yet?" His words were husky and full of sublime promise.

"Never." She fought back, although not in a physical sense. She liked the feel of his powerful body on top of hers too much.

"You always fight. You never give in." He murmured, placing scorching kisses along her collarbone. She moaned loudly as his teeth nipped at her sensitive flesh.

"I gave in to you once, Lucius Malfoy." She haughtily reminded him. "I'm not about to do it again. I learned my lesson."

Her eyes caught his as they were dragged into a secret. A past that neither one of them had ever commented on again since it had happened. It was almost like they had obliviated the memory from their heads.

"Are we back to that _again_?" He asked in that exaggerated drawl that she hated. Her chest puffed with indignation.

"Yes, Lucius, we are." She countered, standing firm. "You squashed down every law I tried to pass. You put it under the heel of your boot and ground them into dust. You knew how important it was to me."

"Just because I was in love with you, that didn't mean that I was going to give in to your little demands." He sighed and moved off her body. He moved his arm under his head and she followed his gaze to the ceilings. "If I hadn't fought against your laws, the wizarding world would have questioned why I was so out of character, everyone would have discovered us."

She was silent for a moment, wishing that she had something to say.

"It was so important to you, from the beginning, that we weren't discovered. You didn't want Potter and Weasley to find out that you had fallen for a Death Eater."

"That didn't mean that I wanted you to completely thwart all my efforts." She said coldly, although her body scooted closer to his, his nearness had always been like a drug to her.

"I explained to you that the Skeeter woman was going to publish those photos that she took of us on holiday in Prague. I shut down your laws in order to keep her quiet. You know how much she hates you."

It was true. Rita Skeeter hated her with a passion. She had raged against Hermione with her venomous quill since she was in fourth year at Hogwarts and Lucius had known that. She had also known about the photos, after Lucius had admitted it all after shooting down the last of her laws. She just couldn't forgive him and they had been separated ever since.

"It doesn't matter." She told him resolutely. "We were over a long time ago and this whole _thing_ you've been doing for the past few days has really caused problems for me."

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"We decided a long time ago to just let it go. That we would go back to the way we were." She slipped her shoes on, not remembering how they came off. "We agreed. The past few days you've been interfering with my business, insinuating yourself with my family and friends. I just..." she stammered, "we just... we just don't work."

She watched his eyes glaze over with anger before his cool mask slipped back in place. She made her way slowly over to him and thrust out her hand. "Remove it, please?"

When he hesitated, she stamped her foot. "Take the ring off, Lucius. I want to go back to our hatred. I want you to hate every fiber of my being and I want to hate yours too. I don't want you to just show up in places and I don't want to be reminded of the us that we used to be. I want you to be Lucius Malfoy, a mudblood hating elitist and rich bachelor. I want to be that bushy haired friend of Harry Potters, to you." She pushed her hand closer to his wand hand. "Remove it now."

She didn't flinch as he waved his wand over her hand. She had lost the fear of that wand years ago when he first asked her to dinner. A dinner that had lead to a quick but steamy affair and ended with grudges on each side.

A laugh from him pulled her out of her musings.

"What's wrong now?" She asked, pulling her hand away from him and tugging on the diamond. "It won't come off. Why won't it come off?" She demanded of him.

Her palm itched to slap him as he rolled his eyes at her, a very un-Lucius Malfoy like move.

"When are you going to learn how the wizarding world works? Almost everything is enchanted and has a mind of it's own." He said, leaning against his pillows.

"So?" She spat out.

"Well, that ring, my sweet darling, doesn't want to leave your finger." He answered her simply.

"This woman doesn't give a fig as to what the ring wants. I want it gone."

"Ah, but my dear, it doesn't work that way. There is a part of you that wants that ring on your finger, a part of you that wants to be linked to me."

"You're wrong."

She turned around and headed to the doors of his bedroom and reached for the handle. It opened easily. She didn't look back at him as she stepped into the vacuum that transported her to the stairs. After that, she ran to the front doors and out into the night, where she safely apparated home.

Hermione walked into Parchment and Bindings the next morning with a cool, collected grace. She was friendly to the customers and pleasant to her employees. She went over her accounts with her usual speed and inventoried the books that McGonagall had sent over. Outwardly she showed no change in how she usually was before the party took over her life.

When she took her lunch, she grabbed a book that George had owled over earlier and asked her if she could drop it off. She looked at the title _Crossbreeding: How to fix it when things go wrong_. She raised an eyebrow at it and decided to gingerly hold it away from her body as she made her way down Diagon Alley.

The tinkling bell over the door rang as she stepped into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She glanced around, surprised that the shop was empty. It was usually full to the brim, even with kids at Hogwarts. Witches and wizards, old and young, enjoyed the shop. She couldn't understand why it was dead.

"George? Ron?" She called out and walked to the employees office when no one answered her.

The minute she walked into the room, she found herself tied down to a chair and a sea of red heads, two blonds, and one of messy black hair, standing in front of her.

"Let me go you dunderheads." She spat at them, giving them her meanest glare that she could muster. It probably could have rivaled Snape.

She narrowed her gaze as Draco Malfoy stepped forward.

"I am going to kill you, Draco Malfoy, as soon as I get out of these binds."

"Words, words, words, Granger." He said nonchalantly. "Besides, we all know that you wouldn't hurt me. My father would be devastated if you did."

"I don't care what your father thinks. I hate that man and the more pain he feels all the better." She said through clenched teeth before looking at Luna. "Let me go Luna or lose your job." She threatened, although a part of her knew that Luna didn't care and that when it came down to it, she wouldn't fire her friend.

"Sorry, Hermione." She said sweetly. "It's for your own good."

Her gaze flitted around the room, taking in all the traitors faces. Ron, George, Harry, Ginny, Draco, Luna and even Charlie Weasley. They were going to pay.

Their was a general nod of approval from the gathered crowd and then Draco continued.

"You can drop the act, Granger. We all know that you're not as impartial to my father as you want us all to believe."

He lifted up her left hand and whispered a spell. The glamor that she had used to cover the ring on her finger disappeared and the flashing diamond glinted in the bright rays of the sun.

"This, my friends, well, not Potter or Weasley, is why she's not as indifferent as she wants everyone to think."

Hermione snatched her hand back, madder than a bee in a bonnet.

"This is none of your business." She glared at Draco.

"Come off the act, Granger. We all know that you and my father had an affair years ago and that it ended badly. We know that you have hated him ever since then. That's the reason you don't date, the reason all you do is work."

"Is it true?" Ron asked, stepping out from the crowd. "I thought he hated you."

"He doesn't hate me and hasn't for a long time." She said, the truth spilling out before she could stop herself. "After your," she pointed at Draco, "mother left I was having lunch at the Leaky and your father accidentally knocked over my bag causing me to spill the ink pot I had on my table onto it. The ink was everlasting and couldn't be removed. He offered to replace it and I took him up on it. When I sent him a thank you card, he replied back with an invitation to dinner."

"I went and found that he wasn't as monstrous as I thought. That dinner turned into three and then before I knew it, we were seeing each other on a regular basis."

"I wanted it kept secret because I didn't want any of you to know about it. So, we kept up pretenses. But then came Rita Skeeter. She blackmailed Lucius, hilarious, I know, that he was the one being blackmailed and not the other way around. He shot down the laws I wanted passed and he made it impossible for me to accomplish anything at the Ministry. I hated him for it. I still do." She finished, her chest heaving with anger.

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "So, why did you really end it?"

"Because he is who he is and he isn't going to change." She said quietly.

"Ha," Draco laughed, a nasty smirk crossing his lips. "Oh, _this_ is rich."

"Explain, Draco, we are all so interested to know." Hermione said, her malice for the younger Malfoy bleeding out.

"You've really had everyone fooled. Especially yourself." He let out a few more laughs until he felt everyone's impatience. "You wanted it kept secret, you never actually went to the Manor, you never said anything to anyone. Do you know why?"

"Why don't you enlighten me." She smiled, knowing that it probably looked like she was ready to bite.

"You did all of that because you're the one who is actually prejudiced."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. For years you have been pushing down what you really feel and now you barely remember it. But, I've caught on to you. You don't hate my father, you love him. You are only angry because he didn't actually fight for you. He didn't blackmail Skeeter back even though he had dirt on her and do you know why?"

She was getting sick of him telling her about her feelings and life.

"Ok then. Allow me to finish my analysis. You hate my father because he didn't show any of the man that he used to be. He didn't threaten or anything else because he has truly changed. And you know it and can't stand it."

"Him being in your life the past couple of days has only made you remember what it was like and you've been denying it to yourself. Admit it." He demanded.

"Yes." She answered. "I don't like what your father does to me. I want order in my life and all he creates is chaos. I've refused to think of him and I can tell you, my life is better without him."

"I haven't spoken to Lucius Malfoy in years, until the other day."

"So, are you really engaged to him?" Ginny asked, not caring that she was in the middle of speaking.

"No, he was just trying to trap me."

"But, he loves you. Why wouldn't you want to marry him?"

"Because he is Lucius Malfoy, Ginny. Don't you remember what he was like?"

"Was, Hermione." Ginny stressed.

She glared at the people around her and struggled against the bonds that held her there. Her wand was in Charlie's hand, but wouldn't respond to her demands. She figured that George must have put up some kind of ward on the shop.

"How long do you think you can keep me here for?" She asked, staring everyone down. "Someone is bound to come looking for me. I can promise you that."

By the time the last word had left her lips, the bell chimed over the front door, breaking her concentration.

"I am here to deliver." Lucius said in all his pompous glory, a smirk playing at his lips as he took in her restrained condition.

Her breathing came quickly as he stepped over to her.

"I hate you!" She seethed. "You put them up to this, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." His silvery eyes dancing with delight.

"Let me out of these bonds Lucius." She demanded, her voice tight. "Now!"

He leaned in towards her and whispered in her ear. "Not until you say the magic words."


	8. Chapter 8

Paper Faces

Chapter 8

_The heart wants what it wants. ~ Woody Allen_

She knew her face was red, she could feel it. Her cheeks were burning, her hair was starting to stand up on end and she was pretty sure that steam was ready to burst from her ears with the sizzling anger inside of her.

Yes, she was that mad and of course, Lucius Malfoy was, again, the cause of it.

She wished more than anything that her wand was in her hand, that she could use that slight length of wood to channel her frustration at the man across from her. The flock of canary's she sent at Ron years ago would be nothing compared to what she would send at Lucius. Hermione could see the headlines now.

**Death of Ex-Voldemort henchmen, Lucius Malfoy, caused by flock of crazed hippogriffs**_**. pg.6 for more details**_

Yes, that sounded just perfect for him. She could even imagine it her mind. Very fitting, if you asked her.

The gaggle of people she considered her friends, however, were still waiting for her to confess her undying love (possibly hate) or curse Malfoy Sr. with a spectacular feat of wandless magic. She laughed heartily. They would be waiting for an eternity. She wasn't going to make any kind of move whatsoever.

Well, if said Malfoy wasn't standing across from her undressing her with his lazy gaze while his hand stroked over the top of his cane. Naughty man.

Oh, she hated the man all right, but when he was looking at her like that and whispering in her ear, she was pretty much mush when it came down to it. She could lie all she liked to others, but she was not fool, or so she liked to think. There was a part of her that was still truly, madly and desperately in love with him. She wouldn't give into it though. She had definitely learned her lesson the last time.

She supposed though, that there was some truth to Draco's words. She hated that Lucius had changed because when all was said and done, she wanted a man that would fight, a man that would take charge. She knew that in a way he had, but with the whole Prophet story, she really wanted him to fight for her. No one had ever really done that and Lucius was just exuding masculinity so she supposed that he should have been up to the task.

"It isn't necessary for all of you to be here." Hermione finally snapped. "This was all a huge waste of time, yours and mine. So why don't you just leave?"

She leveled them all with a glare, but none of them backed down. She knew she was getting rusty. There was a time when her glare and tone would have them all scurrying for the hills. She rolled her eyes and decided to inspect her fingernails instead. They could all rot here for all she cared. She wasn't going to give one damn inch.

"Mr. Weasley." Lucius spoke and she cocked her head to the side, wondering which Mr. Weasley he was referring to as there were three in the room. When George stepped forward, she had her answer. "Would you terribly mind allowing Miss Granger and I the use of your shop for the next couple of hours?"

"Or days?" She heard Ginny say then dissolve into a fit of giggles. She swore that when she was released she would get the girl back.

"I will, of course, be very glad to allow you to use my tab at Spectre for lunch while I have a chat with our tied up friend here." He coaxed and she watched as all their eyes grew round.

Sheep, she thought. They were all mindless sheep and she was actually considering the notion of never talking to any of them again.

In no time at all, the shop had cleared of all of it in habitants, leaving the two of them alone... again. And that was something that had been happening way too often of late for her peace of mind.

"Will you please untie me now?" She asked, her lips pinched into an unpleasant frown.

"I think not, my sweet darling. It's not very often that I get a chance to talk to you where you can't just up and leave or use your evil magic on me." He said with a smirk while twirling her wand that George had handed him between his long gloved covered fingers. "No, I have you just where I want you."

She sneered at him, but then turned to him with a look in her eyes that she knew he couldn't resist. "My wrists are chaffing, would you please at least undo them?"

He regarded her with a questioning gaze, knowing that she probably had some kind of a trick up her sleeve. Which she did, she just hadn't thought of it yet. Well, she planned to run, but that was as far as she had gotten in the planning process.

"Please?" She added, knowing that the softly spoken phrase would seal the deal. He used to love it when her voice would drop low. He said it was so refreshing and damned sexy because it reminded him of her innocence.

His shiny leather shoes clicked slightly on the polished wood floor as he came over and slid his gloved fingers down her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps in it's wake. Slowly, he unwound the ropes binding her wrists to the arm of the chair. He then knelt in front of her, taking the same hand and traced it down her legs until it got to the rope binding her leg. He slid the glove off and with painfully slow movements, encircled her trim ankle in his fingers.

Her heart speed up rapidly and she could feel her chest heaving with desire. She was sure that he must be soaked in pheromones to pull this kind of a reaction from her. Really, he knew she found him attractive, he didn't need to prove it to her. His hand continued to draw circles around her leg as the ropes finally fell away.

"No more chaffing." Lucius said, his hair trailing on the naked part of her thigh that wasn't covered by her skirt as he knelt in front of her.

He stood up so quickly that she was stunned and just sat there, not realizing that she could get up and leave. When her brain returned to normal function she jumped up from the chair... only to be pulled right back down onto the hard wood surface, bruising her bum in the process.

"What in the name of Merlin?" She shouted, attempting to get up again. Hermione got up maybe four inches before she was snapped back to the chair. A modified sticking charm, she realized. The dirty, underhanded snake.

"You bastard." She seethed at him, gritting her teeth in frustration.

He pulled a look of pure innocence onto his face and she felt her palm twitching again in anticipation of slapping that look away.

"I untied you to prevent chaffing. I don't want a single inch of your lovely skin to have a mark on it. But, surely you know me better than to think I would actually let you go. Especially when I have you exactly where I want you. Oh, my darling," he chuckled, "you are losing your edge." He said, smirking the entire time.

"What is it you want to hear?" She asked him haughtily while giving him a glare that was equal to one of his. "Do you want me to declare my undying love for you? Do you want me to tell you how much I want you, how dearly I want to have a life with you?"

"That would suffice for now, I suppose." He drawled lazily. "But, perhaps you could start with how much you have missed me these past few years."

"Like the plague." She muttered under her breath, ignoring the pointed look he sent at her.

"Oh, come now, dearest. I'm sure that somewhere in that ice encased heart of yours you have missed me."

She shook her head no while her heart was screaming from deep within her, yes.

He held up his fingers leaving a small space between his thumb and forefinger. "Not even a little? Throw me a bone here. I've missed you, desperately."

She didn't doubt him, going by the smoldering look in his stormy gray eyes.

"Fine," she gave in. "I've missed you a little." With the look of triumph that crossed his face, she quickly added, "but just a little and definitely less than the amount that you have shown there."

"I think it's more than that, Hermione." His fingers traced along her collarbone as he stood behind her. She knew that he could feel her rapidly beating pulse and she wanted to kick him. She felt him kneel behind her and his strong arms encircle her in a warm embrace. His tongue did a slight lick at her lobe and she felt herself crumbling. "Give into me. We can be amazing together, don't you remember how amazing we were?"

She did remember, even if she didn't want to.

"The world knows of our engagement now. It hit the papers this morning." He whispered silkily. "Everyone knows and they support it. The people you love, the only one's that matter, support this."

"Don't fight it any longer, love." He pleaded with her, earnestly and sweetly as her resolve was pretty much disintegrated into dust. "Be with me, be my wife. Stand at my side and show everyone how you have triumphed over the wealthiest and most cunning man to ever walk the roads in our world."

She could see it clearly, could see the respect she would garner. People still loved the Malfoys, still held the family in high esteem. They probably always would. Just one look at that touchable hair, cool gray eyes and fuckable bodies and one was reduced to a pile of jelly. It would be a total boost to her, at times, large ego. To have tamed Lucius Malfoy. It sounded and tasted wonderfully good on her tongue.

"Yes." She said with fervor and she saw that he was slightly taken aback.

"What?" He asked in a manner that absolutely did not go with his polished speech.

"I said, _yes_." Hermione repeated, although this time she kept the maniacal edge out of her voice. No need for him to think that she was totally mental. Although, deciding to do this, be with him, probably should be considered mental.

He stood back from her, obviously still stunned by her, somewhat, easy acceptance. He held her wand out to her. But, as she moved to grab it, he pulled it back, keeping it just out of the reach of her fingers.

"You're not going to go back on it, are you?" He asked with uncertainty. She had never, in all of her life, seen the great Lucius Malfoy look uncertain.

"No," she told him gently, holding her hand out for her wand.

He released the charm on her body and then knelt in front of her again, taking her chin in his hand so that she had to look into his eyes. "I'm too old for you to break my heart again, Hermione. I love you now as much as I did when you came into my life a few years ago. I won't let you go. So, if this is a trick, you had better tell me now."

She realized at that moment just how much she loved him, how much she missed him... missed them. All doubt that she could have had on his intentions and feelings towards her vanished as well. This was real to him too. Her hand went to his cheek, feeling the smooth skin there against her palm.

"No tricks here, Lucius." She said, meaning every word. She had fought against it and herself for too long.

He pulled her to her feet and brought his lips to hers. The instant her mouth met with his, she knew that this was right, that it always had been.

Slowly, she slipped her wand from his grip and waved it over her left hand. He looked at her questioningly to which she quickly assured him, "No more hiding."

The glamor over her ring vanished and she held the ring up to his eyes, the diamond throwing rainbows all around the shop.

He smiled at her and threw his arm around her waist, tucking her into his side as they stepped out onto the streets of Diagon Alley. Hermione didn't know it, but he was taking them directly to the Ministry to have a wedding performed immediately. He let her go once and he wasn't going to give her a chance to escape again.

He was a reformed man alright, but his core sneakiness was still there. He needed it to keep a step or two ahead of the woman at his side. He had lots of tricks up his sleeve and he couldn't wait to share them with her.

Hermione looked up at the man and caught his sly grin as he led her down the cobblestone streets. "What's the smirk for?" She asked.

"You'll see." He said and then cut her off with a searing kiss as they moved towards their destination. Life was good.

**_*Finis*_**

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**Thanks everyone for sticking around through this story. I know it's taken quite a while to get it done but there it is. Now, don't be angry... I said at the begining that this wasn't going to be a long one, so no death threats or promises of bodily harm. Lucius won't take kindly to that. **

****I hope you all enjoyed the story and the happy ending. I might get up an epilogue, but I think that for now, Lucius and Hermione are pretty happy with where they are. On another note, In Love and War should be finished up within the next week or so. I've got another story in the works (about 6 LONG chanpters in) of Hermione and the oh so yummy Rabastan LeStrange! So, keep a weathered eye out for it!

Thanks again everyone. Mr. Malfoy and I have absolutely appreciated all the reviews. Now get out, I've got a blonde hottie to do naughty things to. :) ~ Crystal


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